Basic Budgeting

Freshman Year · Wealth · Required Lesson

Basic Budgeting

25–30 minutes Medium Required

Destination

By the end of this conversation, the mentee should be able to explain what a budget is, sort a weekly allowance into simple categories and build one basic weekly budget of their own.

Stop 1 of 4

Talk

Goal: Understand how the mentee currently handles money that comes in on a regular basis, without judging past choices.

“A budget is not a punishment. It is a plan that tells your money what to do before it disappears on its own.”

Choose three to five questions

1. Do you get money on a regular basis right now—allowance, a job or something else? How much, and how often?
2. When money comes in, what usually happens to it first?
3. Have you ever run out of money before you expected to? What happened?
4. Have you ever saved up for something on purpose? How did you do it?
5. If you had $40 this week, what would you want to do with it?
Mentor Tip: This conversation goes better with real numbers. Use the mentee’s actual weekly income if they have one—an allowance, part-time job or occasional cash—rather than a hypothetical amount.

Stop 2 of 4

Learn

What is a budget?

A budget is simply a plan for money before it’s spent. Instead of asking “where did my money go?” after the fact, a budget answers that question in advance.

Route 21 Big Idea:
A budget doesn’t limit what you enjoy—it protects what matters most to you by deciding on purpose, instead of by accident.

Three simple buckets

For a weekly allowance, one of the easiest ways to start is by splitting money into three buckets as soon as it arrives:

SpendMoney for this week’s wants—snacks, hangouts, small purchases.Try: about 50%
SaveMoney set aside for something bigger down the road.Try: about 30%
Give or ShareMoney for others—a gift, a cause or helping someone out.Try: about 20%

These percentages are only a starting point. The real goal is deciding on purpose, not hitting an exact number.

A sample weekly budget

Here’s an example for someone who receives $30 a week:

Sample Weekly Budget
Weekly income$30.00
Spend (snacks, hangouts)$15.00
Save (toward new shoes)$10.00
Give or share$5.00
Remaining$0.00

Tracking is what makes a budget real

A plan only works if you check it against what actually happened. At the end of the week, ask: did I stick to the plan? If not, what changed—and does the plan need to change too, or does spending need to change?

Stop 3 of 4

Try

Build your own weekly budget

Using the mentee’s real (or realistic) weekly income, fill in a simple plan together.

Weekly income$ ______
Spend$ ______
Save$ ______
Give or share$ ______
Do the three amounts add up to the weekly income? If not, what needs to change?
What is one specific thing you’re saving toward right now, and about how many weeks would it take at this rate?

Choose Your Route

Pick the video that best fits your time and interest today. You only need to watch one.

Level 1 · Quick Stop

A Simple Budget

Approximately 3–5 minutes

A short, teen-focused introduction to what a budget is and why building one is a foundational independence skill.

Watch the Quick Stop
Talk afterward: What is one idea from the video you’d actually want to try?

Level 2 · Scenic Route

How to Make a Budget

Approximately 8–10 minutes

A clear, step-by-step walkthrough of building a budget from scratch—income, expenses and how they fit together.

Take the Scenic Route
Talk afterward: What’s the difference between an expense you can plan for and one that surprises you?

Level 3 · Open Road

Teach Your Teen Budgeting Before College

Approximately 15–20 minutes

A bigger-picture look at why budgeting habits built now matter later—especially once bigger, less predictable expenses show up.

Explore the Open Road
Talk afterward: What is one budgeting habit you could start now that would still matter five years from now?
Mentor Reminder: Let the mentee choose the route whenever possible. The weekly budget activity above matters more than which video gets picked.

Stop 4 of 4

Grow

Reflection

What surprised you about building a weekly budget?
Which bucket—Spend, Save, or Give—was hardest to decide on? Why?
What is one thing you might do differently with your money next week?
What would help you actually stick to a budget once you leave this conversation?

Try it for one real week

Before the next meeting, try using the weekly budget built today with real money. Keep it simple—even a note on a phone or a scrap of paper is enough to track it.

  • Write down the plan before the week starts.
  • Check in partway through the week.
  • Compare the plan to what actually happened at the end of the week.

How can your mentor help?

How can Route 21 help?

Would a simple budgeting worksheet, app or tracking tool help you follow through on this plan?
Mentor Wrap-Up:
Did the mentee leave with one concrete number-based plan, not just an idea? Did they choose their own savings goal? Did you agree on how you’ll check in on it?